The original aim of this blog was simple, watch a movie and then write about that movie. Every movie I watched, I hoped to write a 300-500 word critique without giving spoilers. Simple in concept, it was not so simple in real life.
It was just too much. I actually quit watching movies because I could not keep up with the reviews. Then I just watched movies, and binge watched television series, but didn’t write about any of them. But I was not exploring or digging into the them, I just consumed. I find that I like the exercise of exploring the movie. I would like to have feedback on what others thought of the film – which is why I like the blog format.
Frankly, I love movies, I love watching them and I want to be a more discriminating viewer and a better writer. By discriminating viewer I mean that I want to think critically about the movies I watch, even the bad ones. I love bad movies as well as the good ones. For me almost all of them have their place, almost all of them can be enjoyed on some level.
I need to find a middle ground that allows me to both consume, and evaluate(blog) while also enjoying other hobbies, working a full time job, sometimes going to classes, and all the other things life entails. I do not know what that will look like on this blog. I do know I will not be writing a critique/review of EVERY movie I watch. I will still try and avoid spoilers. I may well throw in bits about my life and not just movies I watch.
Movies on tap for this upcoming week: All but one from the Criterion Collection, hopefully at least one will get a review.
Westfront 1918 is a German black and white film released in 1930. It is #907 in the Criterion Collection. The visual quality is much better than I expected as the original negative was lost, so the film was restored and digitized using an early positive. There are some awkward cuts, these could just be early editing problems, or problems with restoring the film.
This movie is set in 1918, on Germany’s western front during WWI. It is a bleak telling of the final months of the war as seen through the eyes of 4 men; The Bavarian, The Lieutenant, The Student, and Karl. While the special effects and sound effects seem subdued by today’s standards, the film received praise for being an accurate depiction of war in the trenches. According to Wikipedia the use of sound was pioneering. Papst recorded live audio during tracking shots through the trenches. Westfront 2018 seems slow when compared to more recent movies, but the film’s mood gets steadily darker, and the events steadily more intense as it goes on.
The Bavarian
The Lieutenant
The Student and Karl
As I watched it was, for me, impossible not to compare scenes from it to more recent movies. I remember echoes of Westfront 1918 in Gone with the Wind, in Apocalypse Now, in Gallipoli and in Das Boot. I’m sure that there are echoes and thoughts reaching down through other movies as well.
This is a war movie that tells of the war in the field and on the home front. It is gritty and realistic. It is well worth the watch if you are willing to take your time and be slowly sucked into the lives of the four soldiers.
Availability: I checked it out of the library. Streaming on Amazon and iTunes. Also available for purchase, it was released in 2018 by Criterion.
Some of my movie viewing for the 3rd week in January
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi directed by George Lucas and released in 1983. This is the final film in the original trilogy. More space battles, another new world, revisiting some previous worlds, and some truly cringe worthy dialog. This film is a satisfying conclusion to the middle set of movies and our introduction to the world of Star Wars. Color/English/U.S.A.
Aquaman, released in 2018, and directed by James Wan, Aquaman is a superhero movie. The trailers looked good, so I borrowed it from the library. While there were good parts to the movie, and a wonderful cast, sadly it reminded me why I don’t like superhero movies. Something was just lacking. And in this case, the special effects were just too much. They were well done, but just never ending, I got bored of them as the film went on. This was the silly, laugh at it movie that I was hoping for with The Meg. color/English/U.S.A.
3:10 to Yuma, Is a western that breaks the mold of that genre. There is some violence, but it is mostly a psychological game between outlaw Ben Wade played by Glen Ford, and Dan Evans played by Van Heflin. It is #657 in the Criterion Collection, it was directed by Delmer Daves and released in 1957. Wade and his gang rob a stagecoach, and the stage driver is killed. Wade is captured, and someone must escort him to Yuma for trial and imprisonment. Evans volunteers, and a war of wills begins. b&w/English/U.S.A.
Vengeance is mine, Vengeance is Mine is another criterion entry, #384. It was released in 1979, and directed by Shohei Imamura. The movie is a based on real life crime drama. It recounts the 78 days of a thief and murderer. Ken Ogata plays Iwao Enokizu. The real name of the original killer, was Akira Nishiguchi. This is a bleak film, with Ogata brilliantly playing a completely unlikable character. The story/movie starts with Enokizu in the back of a police car bemoaning the fact that he will hang, and never live to an old age. The film then jumps back and events play forward in a mostly linear fashion. It jumps between Enokizu’s actions to the life of his wife and his father. The original crimes were described as senseless, and Imamura does not try to give a rationale to them. Enokizu’s victims and family are treated with a sympathetic eye, but he is never shown as likable or sympathetic. Warning, this film has nudity, violence, and simulated sex. color/Japanese/Japan.
The Killing was directed by Stanley Kubrick, released in 1956 and is in black and white. It is #575 in the Criterion Collection. It tells the story of an audacious and well planned robbery at a race track. The film has a narrator, which was at first annoying. But the film is not told in linear fashion, so as it went on, that narrator was really helpful, at least to me, in keeping the story straight. This is a grim tale, and for me none of the characters were likable. B&W/English/U.S.A.
The Meg, was directed by Jon Turteltaub and released in 2018. I checked it out hoping for an over the top, laugh out loud cheesy monster movie. It was better than I expected, even though it followed some predictable filming devices. It isn’t the best when you are watching a film and think, ‘ah, here is where they are trying to build suspense, but nothing bad will really happen’. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the film, and I liked most of the characters. There was unfortunately some racial stereotyping, and a white savior. Movie-makers can and should do better than that!
Thief, CC#691. Stylish, with wonderful music, this movie follows Frank, a safe-cracker and thief. The camera-work and use of music that led to Michael Mann’s creating the look for the 1980’s — Miami Vice — is here in this movie. Directed by Michael Mann, starring James Caan, Thief was released in 1981. Color/English/USA
Le Samourai, CC# 306. French, stylish, a slowly told story with the details in the beautiful camerawork. Le Samourai tells the story of one hit by contract killer Jef Costello. The sets are mostly sparse, yet at the same time rich, as much characters in the film as the actors. It stars Alain Delon, and was directed by Jean‑Pierre Melville. from the Criterion site: “Le samouraï is a razor-sharp cocktail of 1940s American gangster cinema and 1960s French pop culture—with a liberal dose of Japanese lone-warrior mythology.” black and white/French/France
My Brilliant Career is an Australian movie that was originally released in 1979, and is based on the book by the same name. It stars Judy Davis and Sam Neill. This is a rewatch for me of an old favorite and I was very excited when Criterion decided to include it in it’s collection (#973). It is considered part of Australian New Wave cinema. The film is considered by some to have become part of Australia’s identity. I do know when I imagine what Australia is like, my mind turns more to My Brilliant Career rather than Crocodile Dundee or Picnic at Hanging Rock.
The book was written by Miles Franklin. In outline, the book/film is autobiographical, but the characters surrounding the leading lady, Sybylla, were fictionalized and not necessarily representative of her family or neighbors.
Sybylla, a young woman in the Australian outback and it is repeated throughout the early part of the film that Sybylla is an ugly duckling. She dreams of a cultured and beautiful life, surrounded by and also creating art, literature and music. Armstrong wanted to show that a woman did not go into the arts and did not exercise her ambitions because she had no hopes of marriage. And so Sybylla is shown as a strong and vivacious young woman, one who attracts both men and women into her circle, marriage is an option for her.
My Brilliant Career is a coming of age story with characters that feel real. They have good and bad points. They do some things well. They make mistakes. The cinematography and directing are wonderful. The sets and costumes perfect, and the acting excellent. For me this is a joyful and uplifting movie that shows the triumph of the soul.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ I checked it out of the library, it is also available for purchase.
A very brief look at some of my movie consumption for the first week in January 2020.
Dunkirk, Directed by Christopher Nolen and released in 1917. This historical drama takes place during World War II, 1940 to be exact. It covert the evacuation of troops from the beaches of Dunkirk by any means possible. The timeline can be a bit confusing as the story covers several people in the evacuation. One story-line takes 2 to 3 days on one extreme, and at the other extreme a storyline takes place over a matter of hours. Yet all the storylines are interwoven, and not in chronological order. It works though and tells a dramatic and heroic story. I don’t know if each individual story thread is true, but the event–the evacuation really did happen. color/English/U.S.A.
Brute Force, CC# 383. A late 40’s crime drama, prison break. Burt Lancaster as an inmate, and Hume Cronyn as the brutal assistant warden. A film noir that, like any good prison movie, creates sympathy for the inmates, and distrust and dislike for the guards. Unable to take the corruption and brutality of the guards, and dreaming of the women and the lives left behind, the prisoners plan to escape. The film was directed by Jules Dassin and released in 1947. black and white/English/USA
The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly is a Spaghetti Western, directed by Sergio Leone and released in 1967. It is the third installment in the Man with No Name trilogy, the first two being Fistful of Dollars, and A Few Dollars More. The man with no name is actually named Joe. We just never hear anyone say his name in any of the 3 movies. In this movie, Clint Eastwood is the good, and goes by the moniker Blondie. Lee Van Cleef is Angel Eyes and is the bad, and boy is he bad. Eli Wallach rounds out the trio as Tucco and is the ugly. The setting is the American Civil War, and our three main characters are after a stolen shipment of gold, vying against each other, the war, and the environment. This is a re-watch for me. Color/Italian/Italian-English
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back was released in 1980 and directed by George Lucas. Another rewatch, and the sequal to Star Wars: The new Hope. This movie was my least favorite of the original 3, but it does give some important background to the story — namely Luke’s family. It also sets up the future and expands the universe created by Lucas. Color/English/United States
Bladerunner, was released in 1982 and was directed by Ridley Scott. There are at least three different versions of the film. The Theatrical release has voice-over narration by Harrison Ford’s character Deckard. Most people seem to prefer the directors cut which added a few scenes and eliminated the narration. I actually like both versions, it just depends on my mood. The movie is based on the Philip K. Dick novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Beneath the science fiction trappings is a philosophical look at humanity and the ethics of science. Color/English/United States
The Friends of Eddie Coyle CC# 475. Released in 1973, directed by Peter Yates. Stars Robert Mitchum. Film noir, crime drama. Small time gun-runner Eddie (Robert Mitchum) must decide between loyalty to his clients or becoming a snitch. It features an ensemble cast, none of them vying for top spot, if anything, they seem to be trying to blend into the dreary background, to not be noticed. It is a gritty movie that doesn’t romanticize crime, criminals, or the law officers, it’s story is told through dialogue, not special effects. The settings are bleak, almost grimy. color/English/United States
La vie de bohème, CC# 693 was released in 1992. It is the opera La Boheme, without the music. Personally, I prefer it with music. Directed by Aki Kaurismäki (who also did the Leningrad Cowboys films), it feature his deadpan sense of humor. Black & white/French/France and Finland
The Bechdel Test, or Bechdel-Wallace test is a baseline test, with 3 simple rules to determine the active presence of women in film. From what I have read, it seems to be easily misunderstood.
A character in Dykes to Watch Out For explains the rules that later came to be known as the Bechdel test (1985). Are there at least 2 women in the film? Do they talk to each other? About something other than a man?
I do not feel that every film must pass the test in order to be a good film, there are some excellent films out there without a woman in them, John Carpenter’s The Thing, and 12 Angry men by Sidney Lumet leap to mind. Even if a film passes all three criteria, it does not necessarily mean it is a feminist film. And if a film does not pass it, it does not mean that the women in it are not bad-ass. It also does not mean the film lacks an active feminine presence.
And what about television shows? Take a 5 year series with an averaging 25 episodes a season, so 125 episodes. In one episode, all three requirements are met, but in the other 124 episodes only one or two criteria are met, does the series pass the test, or only that one episode?
Are there really only 3 requirements? Well, yes and no, some people add on requirements, like the 2 women in the conversation must be named characters. The conversation not about a man must be at least x seconds/minutes long. I recently read an article where the opinion was if the women were objects of romance for men, that discounted everything else, so even if all three of the requirements were met, it did not pass her test. That article is why I decided to write this. Let me repeat the 3 criteria — There must be 1: at least two women who 2: talk to each other 3: about something other than a man(male). These are the only requirements for the Bechdel test.
You can argue that there should be more criteria. I certainly prefer that they be named characters, but that is not part of the original criteria. Create your own list of must haves in a film, but give the test your own name! Take credit for wanting more equal representation in a film. I have some suggestions, which have been stated elsewhere. Change the word women in the Bechdel test to people of color. Change it to a specific nationality. Create a set of rules where the men or women in the film cannot be the object of desire for another character. But, take credit for your watch-ability standards, don’t say it doesn’t pass the Bechdel test.
There are great movies out there that pass the Bechdel test. There are great movies that do not pass the test. There are also bad movies that do and do not pass the test. About half of the films listed on the Bechdel Test site make the cut.
According to Wikipedia, the comic and subsequent test were to show the lack of representation of women in media. And there is a lack of female and minority representation in the media. If we change the test to read are there at least two men in a film, who talk to each other, about something other than a woman/female, what percentage would fail the test?
A very very brief look at some of my movie consumption for December 2019.
Star Wars: A New Hope released in 1977 and directed by George Lucas. It propelled Harrison Ford to stardom, and to a lesser extent also Mark Hamill and Carrie Fischer. A space opera extraordinaire. At the time I refused to go see it, saying it was a cheap rip-off of Star Trek. Boy was I wrong, and thank you very very much to John T. for tricking me into seeing it the first time. I was miffed at you for about the first 5 minutes, but you were right. A fun film and I am so glad you took me to see it. Not so sure my family was that glad though, they endured years of listening to the sound-track, walking in on me watching the movie on VHS, and talking about it incessantly.
Rosemary’s Baby, CC# 630. Directed by Roman Polanski in his Hollywood debut, and released in 1968. Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and her husband Guy (John Cassevetes) move into a renovated apartment, where they are befriended by their overly friendly, know no boundaries, elderly neighbors. Guy makes friends with them but Rosemary becomes more and more suspicious of them as she discovers she is pregnant, and as the pregnancy progresses. Good performances and directing, but a bit predictable today.
Original Cinema Quad Poster – Movie Film Posters
The Alien Series — all 4 of them released from 1979-1997. Each movie had a different director and feel to it. Alien in 1979 was a straight up horror movie, some described it as a haunted house in space, though it fits more into the monster genre. Aliens in 1986 while still horror had more of an action adventure vibe. Alien 3 in 1992 was set in a prison, and so had that criminal/prison feel to it, and Alien Resurrection in 1997 went back to the action adventure formula, for me, unfortunately it lost any horror vibe and parts became actually funny. I do love the evolution of Ripley throughout the series. All 4 are re-watches for me.
Ace in the Hole, CC# 396. What can go wrong when a reporter, Kirk Douglas, decides to manipulate the circumstances in order to create, rather than report a story. Good acting, some claustrophobic sets, and some interesting, though not necessarily likable characters. Released in 1951 and directed by Billy Wilder. black and white/English/USA
Escape from New York starring , Kurt Russel and directed by John Carpenter. A re-watch. In fact a friend and I for some time ‘rang in the New Year with Snake Plisskin’, Russel’s character from the film. It was released in 1981 and is an action/adventure, prison break film. The premise has been widely copied, but no one has been able to replicate the feel of the Carpenter film. This is an old favorite of mine, and after 40 years, I still haven’t gotten tired of it.
A Face in the Crowd stars Andy Griffith and Patricia Neal, both giving wonderful performances. It also features Walter Matthau, Anthony Franciosa, and Lee Remick among others. It was directed by Elia Kazan and released in 1957. It is in black and whited, and is number 970 in the Criterion Collection. The Criterion website states that this is Griffith’s screen debut, IMDB does show this as his first film, there is one other entry for Griffith in 1957, but that is a television episode that aired a month earlier.
Marcia (Patricia Neal) created and produced a southern, small town, radio show called A Face in the Crowd. She travels around interviewing ordinary people. At the beginning of the movie, she goes into a small jail to interview the prisoners. There she finds Larry Rhodes (Andy Griffith), whom she renames Lonesome Rhodes. Marcia immediately recognizes the potential for Rhodes and his out-sized personality and gives him an hourly morning show on the radio. And so begins Lonesome Rhodes’ rise to fame.
Remakes can be tricky. Especially when the original is so well liked, or has an incredibly talented actor who turned in a very good performance. So, I will go out on a limb here and say that I really preferred the remake of IT. I also thought that Bill Skarsgård, did a better job as Pennywise than Tim Curry. I know, verging on heresy.
So let’s talk about Skarsgård vs Curry as Pennywise. Both are good actors, no question. I have seen more of Curry’s work than Skarsgård’s. But if you want a scary Time Curry, then look to Legend, not IT. Darkness, Curry’s character in Legend was a terrifying Tim Curry. In fact Tim Curry is the only reason I would recommend that movie. (To be honest just watch the parts with Curry. The lead actor ruined the movie, and any part of it with Cruise in it is almost unwatchable because his performance was so bad.) Part of what made Curry’s Darkness and Skarsgård’s Pennywise so frightening was the special effects and make-up. So, Skarsgård had more frightening make-up, and special effects have improved since 1990. (or was it 1986, both dates are listed for the making and release of the original movie. IMDB.com uses 1990.) Another difference in the level of scary was how the movies were marketed. the 1990 version was a television mini-series. In 1990 they were not going to make as scary a clown for television as they would have for a theatrical release, so the director probably toned down just how scary Curry could be for the movie. So, if Curry had had better/more frightening make-up, better special effects and a theatrical release with an R rating he might have been more scary. And since IT is a horror movie, with a frightening monster, the monster, in my opinion needs to be truly frightening. Skarsgård wins that hands down, it doesn’t matter if it is because of direction, make-up, or effects; to me he was just plain more frightening.
On to the Movie(s). I like the original movie, I even check it out of the library from time to time. I’ve never found it to be frightening though. To me, the remake was more frightening, and more suspenseful. In it we discover that the town of Derry has more monsters than just Pennywise. These everyday monsters will leave as many or more physical scars on our intrepid band of young losers than the clown with the red balloon. They may even leave more mental scars than Pennywise. As a horror story, the remake worked much better on every level than the original movie, the sets were better, and more frightening, I love that well-house! The bullies were more brutal than the original movie. I am looking forward to the second movie featuring our gang of losers as adults.
I cannot speak to either version compared to the book, please look to other reviews for that.
Movies don’t often scare me anymore, I guess I am becoming too cynical, or too old, or I’ve seen the ideas in other forms. Maybe I’m just watching the wrong movies? The remake for me still was not overly scary, but it was really creepy and great on atmosphere. It is not a typical slasher movie, but there are some disturbing scenes. I would recommend it for horror fans. If you are easily scared or are disturbed by scenes of violence, person on person or monster on person it may not be for you.
Availability: I checked out IT from my public library, it should also be available to purchase.
CatMarie at the Movies 